In the past decade, the industry of portable and home electronics has seen an unprecedented growth. Devices such as cellular phones, digital cameras, digital music players, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) have entered the market and quickly become part of mainstream use.
In the last decade, for instance, the use of cellular/mobile (hereinafter, “cell”) phones has been steadily rising. As an example, in 1992, there were about 10 million cell phone users worldwide. Yet by year 2000, that number grew to 700 million, representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 70 percent. The advent in technology and sheer convenience of having this technology within mobile devices have compelled most cell phone users to rely on their phones for storing contact information, making schedules, and even leaving memos. As a result, cell phones today not only facilitate communication, but also act as a storage for a great deal of valuable data formats.
With millions of portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, lost or damaged yearly, it is not difficult to see that an effective method of backing up this valuable data is needed.
Today, most cell phones in the market attempt to address the issue of potential data loss by offering computer to cell phone communication options. These options enable cell phone users to edit and backup valuable cell phone data on their Personal Computers (PCs) or laptop computers. Although this method can be effective in securing cell phone data, it does not present a total solution. First, the described option requires both, the possession of a computer, and a relatively high level of computer savvy. Second, it requires a purchase of an expensive, higher-end cell phone model. Third, this method calls for separately purchased cables and software necessary for the communication process, and both the hardware and software will only work with specific brand or model. Finally, if one is switching carriers, or upgrading to a new brand or model, it will still require a manual transfer of data from one system into another.
Another cell phone data backup method that has recently emerged is a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card copy device. A SIM card is a card that allows a cell phone to access the global telecommunications network. The SIM card stores the user's unique identification info, as well as other user data such as phone numbers, contact info, and SMS (short message services) messages. The use of SIM card copy device involves taking the SIM card out of the cell phone, inserting it into the device and activating the backup/copy process. Although copying the data stored on the phone's SIM card provides the user with a greater sense of security, this method too, is not without its shortcomings. First, this approach requires a user to carefully dismantle sensitive equipment and to pull out the fragile card without causing damage to it. Second, only data stored on the SIM card is copied, while the phone's memory remains without a backup copy. Finally, since only cell phones within the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system use the SIM cards, this is not a universal solution.